We’re a non-profit climate change think tank which uses data analysis to build evidence-based campaigns on climate policy.
We focus on EU policies such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, carbon border adjustment mechanisms and emissions reductions in industrial sectors. We believe in Europe’s ability to lead climate action, by example and using its large market and ability to stimulate technological competition as an incentive for others to follow. But we’re also aware of the risk that Europe’s might fail to deliver on its own pledges, which is why we want to get EU policy right.
News
Why Free Allocation in the EU ETS Must Stop Urgently
Free allocation (FA) under the EU ETS has been criticised for directing large amounts of taxpayers’ money towards incumbent polluting plants, turning the polluter-pays principle on its head and not...
Urgent: CBAM needed to abolish free allocation under the EU ETS
Why was the CBAM proposed in the first place? In July 2021, the EU announced its Fit for 55 package - a sweeping set of climate and energy policy proposals which forms the EU’s approach to combat...
Feedback on the EU ETS reform
Sandbag welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the update of the EU ETS under the FF55 package. Our analyses [1] show that the proposed changes are not enough to guarantee that emissions...
Impact of EU ETS reform: letting industry loose
This note aims to put numbers on the amendment proposed by the European Commission to the Directive ruling the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as part of its Fit-for-55 package, and its...
New study shows limited trade impacts of European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
The impact of the likely Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on European importers will be minor, according to a new report by Sandbag and E3G. The CBAM only covers 3.2 percent of goods...
ETS reform: under the hype, a sense of déjà-vu
On 14 July a long-expected reform proposal of Europe’s carbon market was published by the European Commission. Far from addressing the market’s main issues, it barely adds a few patches and...
